Leaving
by Nagumo
Summary: Based off of Sheo Darren's fic "Iron Maiden and Dowser Knight". Prague and tea turns out to be an explosive mix. Especially when it involves the 'Kindly One' and the 'Grim Reaper'. (mildly disturbing)
1. Dreams of the Future

Inspired by Sheo Darren fic "Iron Maiden And Dowser Knight"

Enjoy. And don't worry… Meene is not scary in this fanfic. : )

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Meene left home four years ago today. Millie lit a small candle in remembrance of that last night together that they spent as sisters.

She remembered distinctly her onee-chan and her smile, warm and full of sorrow on the night Meene left. It held secrets and hopes that Millie never could penetrate. 

The smile was much like the smile their mother gave them on her last day on earth before death claimed her eight years ago. Despite the fire cracked skin of her face and the pain that fire blackened body must have gave, their mother could still smile at them. She had protected them as well as she could, there could be no regrets now. So she smiled at her last breath of life, at her last moment together as family.

A smile that seemed to see beyond and understand the tragedy and beauty of life before it ends. Before it is taken.

They both claimed to have seen a vision of the angel Gabriel and that was how they could smile.

Millie wondered if she would end up with that same smile as her mother and sister and see the archangel as they had both claimed. The same heavy burden and the warm, sorrowful smile that they received in exchange.

It was enough to pray that she never saw the archangel.

For in the Von Meer family, they had a saying.

If you see Gabriel; be prepared to enter the gates of heaven. 

(four years ago)

The cat yawned lazily from its perch and gave Meene a decidedly bored look. It was a favored activity of Meene to enter staring contests with the cat but she usually lost since the competition was rigged for the cat to win. But tonight there would be no staring contest and never again.

Meene checked her duffel bag and luger one last time before sitting down in the parlor of the house to relax.

Shotgun with twenty rounds…. Check.  
Luger with twenty four rounds in magazines…. Check.  
Clothing…. Check.  
Toiletry…. Check.  
Bible…. Check.  
Lock pick set…. Check. (better keep this in my inner jacket pocket… Just in case)  
Combat knife…. Check.  
Bayonet knife…. Check. (jeez this duffel bag is a heavy sucker)

The duffel bag was fully packed. The shotgun was empty and properly stored in a gun case with the twenty rounds carefully inserted into the ammo case. The knives were sheathed and the bible was carefully kept between two layers of clothing. The twenty four Luger rounds were hidden on her, loaded into magazines.

She really needed to get a new gun but what was she going to do? Go up to the gun store and say, 'Hi I would like to buy a new gun to use so I can kill some people. Don't worry I'll be only killing evil people who want to destroy all non-shamanistic humans in the world. So be a dear and pass me the Super RedHawk Ruger you got behind the counter there'. 

Right… Moving along now.

It was now on her checklist of things to do before going.

Made little sister eat her broccoli, brush teeth, etc. and put her to bed…. Check.  
Called Aunt and Uncle to take care of little sister… Check.  
Made sure Marco knows where I live…. Check.  
Prepared the bribe…. Check.  
Prepared all financial documents with bank…. Check.  
Wrote final will and testament with lawyer…. Check.  
Told off High school…. Check (well actually she told the high school, what was left of it anyways, she was  
dropping out of her last year but she did finally give her uppity bible study teacher Sister Kate a piece of her  
mind).  
Rosario…. Not yet.

Meene got out her rosewood rosary to begin her rosario and tried to remember what day it was today. She heard a pair of feet come down from the stairs and knew that Millie was awake. Meene waited for sister to appear in the parlor doorway.

Millie stood at the entranceway in her white snowflake printed pajamas in silence.

"Today is Wednesday nee-chan," Millie announced when she saw the rosary in her older sister's hands. Meene motioned for her little sister join her in the parlor. In short order Millie sidled up to Meene and watched Meene perform her nightly rosario. Today was the Mysteria Gloriosa, the Glorious Mysteries.

The words were in Latin, Millie could not understand them but she remembered bits and pieces of the words and phrases.

"In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, Amen," Meene began as she held the crucifix and made the sign of the cross. Millie patiently waited for her older sister to finish. The rosario took awhile and the words were a bit beyond Millie but there was a simple elegance to it. It was done soon enough and the rosary was around Meene's neck again.

"You should be in bed you know," Meene noted as she got out a blanket to cover Millie up. The fire in the fireplace had long since died out, there were only a few embers left glowing. It was just enough to restart the fire perhaps, a log was placed on top and Meene stoked the embers with the poker after covering Millie with the blanket.

"I don't wanna go to sleep… If I go to sleep you'll go away," Millie said. Her tearful eyes were wide with exaggerated effort to remain awake. It was well past bedtime but Meene decided to indulge her little sister still. The cat got up from his seat on the couch and walked to the door where it patiently waited for Meene to open for him. Seeing the cat, Meene put away the poker and opened the door to let the cat out. A blast of cold greeted her but it was not snowing yet. The cat journeyed out into the lit streets and disappeared.

"I have to go anyways Millie, even if you are awake or not," Meene said gently. She sat by her little sister's side and drew in a deep breath.

"As long as I am awake, I'll keep you here," Millie said stubbornly. She hugged Meene tightly as though to weigh her down to not move. It was a rather futile move on Millie's part but Meene knew that it would not be easy to get away from her.

Hours past in silence and the log caught fire. The red flickering of the flames bathed them in warmth and lit the room weakly. Millie's eyes began to droop a bit as time went on and she tried to stifle her yawns and keep her hug on Meene strong. Nevertheless, time was allowing sleep to win and it would not be long before Millie would fall asleep.

"I should be going now," Meene announced quietly to Millie. She got up and easily broke away from Millie's hug. She knelt down and looked at Millie's sleepy face.

"But why?!" Millie asked in a vaguely whinny and insistent voice.

The look in Meene's eyes became cloudy and far away. As though they were no longer any where on earth but somewhere far off that only she could see.

"I saw the angel Gabriel…" Meene said simply.

Millie looked awed and looked up at Meene's eyes and face. Meene still had that warm and sorrowful smile and it baffled her.

"But you saw the angel… Why aren't you happy nee-chan?" Millie asked confused.

"I am happy to see… It's just that I don't understand what I saw," Meene answered and sucked in a frustrated breath of air.

"Can you tell me about it?" Millie asked. Meene paused to gather her thoughts and then she began. The words were so special that they seemed to charge the air and open a crack to a doorway into heaven, just by being spoken. It was such a curious feeling that Millie memorized all the words without fail after one single telling.

"I saw a man clothed in a red robe embroidered with green. He was…. I can't even describe Millie what he looked like but only what he had. He had a shield with a lily etched on lying by his left and a spear held in his right hand. 

In the sky above him, I saw the future, the past and the present mixed into one. And then just the future was shown, where there was tears and smiles, hatred and fear, an ending and a beginning… It was all beyond me and I turned away from the sky covering my eyes.

Then he spoke… 

Hail, child of Adam and of Eve  
I bear a task and message from the Lord  
He beseeches you to accept.

Seek the boy in green and the man in white,  
See the girl in the iron,  
Forgive the woman in black

Be not the boy's crutch but his inspiration,  
He shall walk on his own soon enough  
Smile unto him as We do in heaven.

Be not the man's illusion but his counsel,  
As I am to Michael, so shall you be  
Do not blind him for your own sake.

Be not the girl's worshipper,  
Reveal that she is of flesh and blood  
Tell that she is loved, not just protected.

Be not the woman in black herself,  
For you cannot be or replace her  
This shall be your most tempting quandary."

Meene stopped speaking. Millie felt as though it was incomplete, as though there was more to the message but Meene was not saying what it was. 

"What does it all mean?" Millie asked awed, and then a bizarre tingling feeling upon her skin was felt. Millie never realized that Meene was using a bit of her furyoku to encourage sleep to claim her. Soft languorous warmth welled up within Millie and she wanted to fall into its embrace.

"I don't know Millie… If I knew the world be a better place with kitty cats and chocolates and I wouldn't have to leave," Meene joked at her frustration at the vision.

"You'll be coming home right onee-chan?" Millie asked sleepily. She never heard her onee-chan answer though; she fell asleep right after asking. The next day Millie awoke in her bed, she raced downstairs to see if her sister was still in the house, only to discover her aunt and uncle downstairs making lunch for her. It was then that Millie realized her older sister had actually left in pursuit of that far away vision of the future that might or might not be.

The cat never came home either after Meene left; it had gone on a further patrol than expected. It was on its last leg of its three day journey when it was struck by a car. It barely managed to crawl to the front steps of the house where it finally died. It was so close to home but it never made it back.

Millie cried for a week and felt a grip of dread.

The cat's death seemed almost prophetic.

There is also a tale to be spoken of when the dreamer sleeps and the guardian is awake. Let us see the gap between Millie's memories. After all, there are still stories being spun when eyes are closed.

When Millie finally fell asleep finally, Meene smiled the same warm and sorrowful smile she held that entire night. She carefully lifted Millie into her arms and carried her little sister to bed. The house was quiet and the cat had already left for its overnight patrol.

"Goodbye Millie… I won't be coming home," Meene whispered as she kissed her little sisters forehead and closed the door of the bedroom. There was more to the message then what Meene had told Millie but she kept quiet about it.

'He gives you a difficult task,  
The price to perform all is harsh  
He will not hide what the result shall be.

Perform all four and you shall perish,  
Perform only three and you shall live  
The task for whom you do not fulfill shall perish in your stead.

To accept or to refuse is your right of free will  
He nor I can make you accept  
But know that it comes from the most sincere prayers.

Know that it comes from those who are despairing.'

It wasn't as if Meene could tell Millie that could she now. No, to live she would have to sacrifice another, and to save all she must die at the end of her labors. Not a very good deal, too bad she couldn't negotiate with heaven for a better one. She quickly ran to the parlor and picked up her duffel bag and Luger so she could finally leave the house. Checking the time, Meene noted that Marco had probably been waiting outside in the winter chill for at least an hour and a half.

He was probably not very happy at all.

This was when Meene went into the kitchen and picked up the 'bribe' she had prepared before hand… It was a bar of Belgian chocolate. It was always good to be prepared with the 'bribe'; it was a little known secret that Marco had a fondness for Belgian chocolate.

True to her prediction, Marco was outside waiting for her and was obviously trying to keep himself warm in the cold. The chill was not so bad but being outside for an hour and a half waiting for Meene proved to be a bit too much for a man more used to warmer climes. The trunk of the car was left open and he had been sitting inside the car waiting.

"What were you doing?! It is cold out here!" Marco barked angry, he slammed the door of the car shut and muttered his indignation. The X-Laws captain was wrapped in a warm jacket, had gloves on and a badly made scarf with similarly crooked initial M. on it. Jeanne had no talent when it came to knitting but the amorphous scarf, if one could call it a scarf, was very warm. Marco marched over to Meene.

Meene didn't answer. Instead, she got out the chocolate, tore away the wrapping, broke off a piece and then shoved the piece of chocolate into Marcos' mouth without missing a beat.

"Oh quiet you; it's not that cold out… Well for an Italian I suppose it is cold but for Germans like me, this is warm."

Marco chewed the chocolate first and found that it was his favorite Belgian chocolate, which abated his anger somewhat as he chewed it. Then he realized that Meene was bribing him again and that got his anger right back up. After he ate the chocolate, he glared at Meene.

"Bribing me with choco- mrph!" Marco began but Meene shoved another piece of Belgian chocolate into his mouth and cut off his sentence.

"Jeez you're being greedy today, Belgian chocolate is expensive and I don't have that much okay?" Meene said vaguely annoyed. Marco favored giving Meene a harassed look before he ate the chocolate in his mouth.

"Fine then, give me your bag. I'll load it onto the car," Marco finally accepting his bribe. 

"Er… I'll do it Marco; it's pretty heavy and…" Meene began but Marco glared at her.

"Are you implying that I can't carry it?" Marco asked annoyed.

"Sigh… Okay Marco, fine…" Meene assented at last.

Meene passed her bag and watched as Marco struggled under the load a bit, as he tried to put it into the open trunk. Instead of going into the trunk, it landed onto his foot. Marco let loose a string of inventive curses that she made mental note of so she could use latter on. 

Except the one about the cat and the tree, that particular insult made Meene wince since she was a cat lover.

"What is in here?" Marco asked with a note of exasperation and disbelief.

"Marco don't make me shove more chocolates your mouth… I'll help you okay," Meene answered idly. She came beside Marco but he waved her off.

"I'm a man, I accepted the burden so leave me be," Marco muttered, Meene rolled her eyes at his response. With a single heave, he managed to get the duffel bag into the trunk of the car. He slammed it shut with annoyance and muttered more.

Meene sighed and turned to look at her house one last time. Marco noticed Meene was staring at her home and frowned. The silence was awkward, it wasn't that he didn't like silence but sometimes he couldn't help but get annoyed at it. Life was noisy, or had sound in his opinion. Quiet was unnatural in his opinion except in nature.

"I swear that you'll return home to your little sister safely Meene on my life, honor and soul," Marco swore solemnly and suddenly. Meene was startled and laughed quietly at the overly serious look and gave Marco the same smile she gave her younger sister. His oath jarred her out of her reverie.

"Do not promise me something like that… You know Marco; one of the biggest problems with you is that you promise girls what you can't really accomplish. If you keep on doing that your future girlfriend is going to hate you. I see that you keep her closely to your heart," Meene teased lightly. She lightly treaded her fingers over his chest, she could sense a faint aura there that was not his own. It was a unfamiliar aura, it was not Father Rasso's aura nor was it the Iron Maiden's. It had a distinctly feminine feel, God forbid if Marco had something that wasn't manly, and held the scent of earth and grass.

Marco wished he was dignified enough not to sputter and not redden as Meene's hand lightly caressed his chest where the ring was hanging underneath his shirt.

"What are you talking about? I'm serious!" Marco said recovering.

"Yes… I know you're serious, you're too serious, that is why I am telling you not promise me something like that," Meene said in an amused voice.

"… You don't think you're coming back alive do you?" Marco accused harshly. Was there no one in the X-Laws who believed they would come back from this war alive?

"All I know Marco is… That I will never return to this life… That I will never see my little sister again. It does not mean I am going to die, rather I shall not… No, I can't return to this life after this war… I will do things that even Millie could never believe and I never want her to know," Meene answered calmly. The answer cooled Marco's boiling temper and calmed him.

"I'm sorry… This is hard for you isn't it? I never really had family that cared for me that way, so I never worry about what they might think when I do things," Marco answered. The admission surprised Meene, she tried to recall in any instance where Marco ever mentioned family or at least his own family situation and found no previous example. She stored away that little info in her head; Marco was a private individual. Information on his past or on him was hard to acquire.

"Ah, but you do have family, my Stoic Roman friend and she is waiting for us," Meene replied.

Marco said nothing, he knew who Meene was talking about, and looked up into the clouded skies. The first snow of winter was falling at last and it lightly dusted his head with white.

"Let's go, we have a lot to do," Marco finally spoke at last.

They left the house and its sleeping child within.

Or at least they tried to.

"Marco… Did you leave the keys inside the car?… And you locked the doors as well?"

"Quiet! I don't want to hear about it!"

"… You want me to open the lock for you?"

"…."

"It's that or breaking the window… Choose."

A new string of explosive curses erupted and Meene shoved the rest of the Belgian chocolate into Marco's mouth to calm him down. Meene memorized the ones that did come out during the brief moment before she stuffed his mouth with chocolate…  


Except the one about the cat and fire. Meene began to wonder if Marco hated cats or something.


	2. Tea Between Killers

Because Sheo Darren's fic amuses me.  
Note that this fic is based on Sheo Darren's fanfic, not on my Nos Exaudi et Misere though aspects of it are used throughout.  
Think of this as side stories to Sheo Darren's fanfic.

Also catch the shameless Noir reference in the fic.

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'Report #413

January 21, 2000  
0514 hours  
Czech Republic, Prague  
Nerudova  
Mala Strana  
U Kocoura

Unexpected contact with Justicar in U Kocoura at 0252 after discussing with Prague's resident shaman Kein21 the details of arms purchase for Dragunovs. Kein21 left U Kocoura earlier in the night at 0223.

First hour of contact with Justicar was peaceable. Drank tea with Justicar during the interlude… Blah, blah, blah.

BLAH!!!'

…

Meene paused in typing her report and sighed as she adjusted the ice pack on her head to better access to her bruised cheek.

Meene had tea with the Grim Reaper… Not literally speaking of course.

Somehow, she was not all too impressed. The black clothing and cross of the tall willowy woman in front of her at the time failed to intimidate as did the reputation surrounding her – or maybe because the black clothing and title was just so terribly clichéd and all. Now if Meene were evil and everything, she would wear white clothing no matter what and keep a title like 'The Kindly One' to throw her enemies off. Besides Evil Overlord's Handbook rule number 29 suggested it as well. Thus in her opinion, you should always fear the ones in white or cheery colors.

Hmm… Did that mean that she and X-Laws were evil, then? Oh, well. There were times in life that you just can't win.

Speaking of not winning… Was there a diplomatic way of saying to Marco, 'I had a jolly nice tea break with an enemy before we proceeded to go outside in the winter cold and damage several historical buildings in Prague. Oh but there was no civilian casualties surprisingly enough. It just that we smashed up two blocks worth of traditional Baroque and Gothic architecture, that's all. Oh, and by the way, neither of us won'.

Probably not.

Which was why she was writing this report for Marco and skipping out to investigate what cigarette brand Kanna Bismark smoked. Don't laugh, because it is obvious that Kanna Bismark is addicted to cigarettes and needed to buy her cancer sticks somewhere at some time, meaning there is a distinct opportunity to ambush her when she least expected it.

Truthfully, Meene wanted to go and collapse into bed but the temptation was not worth Jeanne worrying about her health. Nor was it worth Marco getting into his long-winded lectures (rants) about keeping herself healthy and whole. If there was anything Marco had inherited from Father Rasso, it would be that they were both mind numbingly boring when it came to lectures.

Meene sighed and began thinking what else to write in her report. She cast her mind back to start of where everything went downhill.

-------

She was very happy in the beginning. Her business in U Kocoura with Myzokla was done and it appeared that there would be no problems this time in the delivery of the Galil rifles that the X-Laws had requested. They were heading over Israel in about a month, so sand resistant weapons were in order.

U Kocoura was a bar. A particular dark and dingy bar with no customers in it other than Meene. The bartender was a white haired old man with scars all over his face, arms, and had eyes that seemed to scorch any foolish young teenagers and adults from horsing around. In other words, it felt like the fun had been sucked out of the bar by the paint-peeling glare of the proprietor. Perhaps that was why the bar was so unnaturally quiet while other bars were practically overflowing with people.

Meene let her mind wander about nothing in particular. Like if, Marco and the bartender got into a staring contest which one would have the scariest glare or blink first.

Or in addition of being a bar… Why would it serve tea in the first place?

Meene failed to find the connection between tea and a bar but she didn't dwell on it too much. She was relaxing and thus any mind boggling and stressful business or mystery could wait until after she had her fill of tea.

A blast of cold air entered the bar and the tingling of the bell at the door could be heard in the dead silence. Meene wondered how fast the bartender could get rid of the customer with his glare and found that the old man looked more confused than his typically surly self did. Meene thought she felt Marco's aura and turned to see what he was doing in U Kocoura.

Meene soon saw that the bar had a priest in it. The black clothing stuck out on the brown wall of the bar and there was white snow capping the priest's shoulders and hat. It was not Marco but she could sense Marco's aura on the priest but noticed something off. Marco's aura was usually, to Meene at least, consisted of fiery passions kept under tight control with a vaguely spicy aftertaste. This aura she felt was similar but instead of being truly blazing, it was a bit more subdued, cooled a bit to exhibit a surprising tenderness. Meene had long known that Marco's aura was actually less intense and disturbed but the current war gave him no time to relax his guard or his zeal.

It was not, however, Marco who entered U Kocoura but Meene was utterly convinced that it was Marco's aura. And besides, the chances of Marco playing dress-up as a priest was fairly low.

'… Why would a priest be here at this time?' Meene wondered to herself as she rose from her seat to show respect. She was about to greet the Father who had just entered until she noticed that the black clad priest had a rather feminine figure.

Rune Minor saw Meene standing at a table stunned and froze. Both women unconsciously fingered their weapons.

"Z'ádný bojování," the bartender barked as he recognized what they were doing and glared at the both women. He quickly backed down when both gave him tense and hostile glares of their own with a hint of fiery annoyance and a promise of violence to come.

"Meene Von Meer," Rune coolly noted. The air was charged and both waited for the signal that would start a fight.

"Rune Minor," Meene nodded… Then it seemed like she proceeded to ignore Rune by drinking all her tea in one big gulp. Meene was actually plumbing her mind information on Rune Minor and was, in fact, still very aware of the situation she was in and watching.

'Rune Minor. Born August 12, 1974, in a small village approximately thirty miles away from Millstreet, Ireland. Daughter of Eileen and Cahir Minor, who are still alive and kicking. Former member of the Tir Na Nog, an obscure but powerful druidic circle who claim to be descendents of the Tuatha De Danaan. Former druid, descended from a long line of druids. Green eyes and has natural green hair that she eventually dyed black when she left the circle. Height 5'5", weight 135 lbs thereabout. Druidic abilities have diminished or mutated into something unpleasant. Weapon of choice, scythe…'Meene bounced all the facts she knew about Rune in her mind. There was more, Meene was finally getting the more relevant pieces of information known about Rune. Like her attacks, abilities and notable fighting tactics but Meene could still sense Marco's aura on Rune. It drove her to distraction endlessly and Meene couldn't help but feel completely confused.

The aura was centered around an item that hung near Rune's heart. It was small and obviously lovingly worn by Rune. In fact Meene found it hard to sense where the auras began and ended, which one was which. The two auras melded together seamlessly it seemed, as though they were in an embrace. One aura giving the other something to complete each other, to make each other whole.

Meene found it 'disturbing'.

It also lead to the question: Why on earth would one of their most avowed enemies keep an object belonging to the X-Laws captain so intimately?

Rune, on the other hand, tried not to appear completely surprised by Meene's unexpected reaction and calmly dusted the snow off her hat and coat while keeping a wary eye on Meene. Because of Meene's seemingly careless action, the tension left Rune's body and the air calmed. She initially thought Meene was a complete fool for ignoring an enemy and completely vulnerable to attack… until she noticed Meene's gaze was squarely on a mirror showing Rune's reflection and thus her every move. Similarly Meene's exaggerated act of drinking tea had momentarily drawn Rune's attention away from Meene's other free hand which had removed the safety Meene's gun and was ready bring the weapon out for action.

Rune's opinion of Meene went up a notch as she realized that her enemy was not a complete flake.

Perhaps the rumors surrounding 'the Kindly One' were true to some extent. Rune had heard a few things about this particular X-Law. Luchist Rasso confirmed that Meene was the X-Laws equivalent of an intelligence officer. Others like Zang-Ching looked away in silence and talked in hushed angry (sometimes fearful) tones of 'the Kindly One' whenever she was mentioned.

It was thus a matter of personal curiosity that Rune approached Meene. Meene turned away from the mirror to face Rune.

"Is there something I can do for you or are you just going to stand there, Minor?" Meene asked politely.

"Are you going to actually drink all that tea by yourself?" Rune rhetorically asked and pointed at the rather large pot on the table. Meene shrugged and swept her arm to offer the other empty seat of the table.

Rune sat down and kept a wary eye on Meene.

"Výčepní, šálek na čaj," Meene said in Czech. The bartender reluctantly got another teacup and quickly brought it to their table. He also just as quickly left the two alone and retreated behind his bar.

Rune looked over the cup before filling it with tea and taking a drink.

Rune and Meene simply said nothing for the first few minutes. Neither of them knew what exactly to say or what to do. After all, enemies in a war tend not to sit down amicably to have tea together. Both were as relaxed as a rope in a tug of war.

"Should I ask what you are doing here?" Meene began the conversation. It was getting ridiculous waiting for twenty minutes just drinking tea and waiting for one of them to attack.

"I wanted to get drunk," Rune lied calmly.

"I don't think that in our line of work we can afford to get drunk," Meene noted, chuckling darkly.

"Oh, and should I ask what you are doing here?" Rune asked.

"It's cold out and the tea here is good," Meene lied in a joking manner.

"Since it's obvious we aren't going to talk about why we're here in Prague in the first place, why don't we talk about something else?" Rune said in a dismissing voice.

"What are we going to talk about? You and I are both killers and we both know it. So the only subject that would really be of interest to us is something connected to our profession like: How do we usually kill our victims?" Meene noted sarcastically.

"I usually just wait until their in the bathroom and then just kill them with my scythe," Rune deadpanned and sipped her tea. The tea was indeed very good, Rune made a mental note to find out what it was and get some gingersnap cookies to go with it on her off time.

"You know I didn't mean it literally… Though that would explain why ninety percent of your victims are caught with their pants down," Meene observed dryly.

"And you?"

"A quick jab in the femoral artery while I walk by and disappear. My victims bleed to death very quickly."

The way the two were discussing their profession was akin to two lawyers discussing a law case. They realized the sheer banality of their discussion and moved onto other subjects.

"I wanted to ask you a question for awhile…" Rune said and stopped. She wondered how to word her question.

"Is it about the 'title'? Seeing that you are the Grim Reaper and all and I am 'The Kindly One'," Meene said picking off where Rune had trailed off.

"… My nickname is self-explanatory… But yours is a bit of a mystery to me," Rune admitted.

"The 'Kindly One' or more accurately the 'Kindly Ones' refer to the Three Furies. A grateful Orestes named them so when they stopped hunting him for the death of his mother," Meene explained.

"And?" Rune pressed for a bit more information.

"And because no prayer, no sacrifice, and no tears could move them, or protect the object of their wrath; and if ever they felt that the criminal would escape them, they called in the assistance of the goddess of Justice."

"I see… How appropriate."

They both took drank their tea in silence. The bartender warily watched the two women as he quietly packed a suitcase full of his money and select valuables. There was a curious energy in the air that heightened his paranoia and he decided that he needed to pack his wealth. The two women were dangerous and chances of a conflict breaking out, though muted, were too high for him to relax.

"I hear that you massacred the Quinton family in America…" Meene began on a new subject.

"I did, none of them survived," Rune affirmed.

"Ah, I see. The Quinton family was a rather large supporter of the X-Laws and I happened to like the young Nadia Quinton… Did she die without pain?" Meene asked. The way Meene asked was akin to someone wanting to know if tomorrow was going to be a sunny day.

"It was quick and painless. She was asleep when I got to her, she never even realized that her family was already dead either."

"… Thank you, if only for that small mercy. Our chosen path doesn't exactly let us grant the luxury of victims dying unaware."

"Understandable but that is the nature of the business of death," Rune said quietly. Perhaps there was a note of regret in Rune's voice but Meene was not sure.

"Quid pro quo. Ask me something, since you've answered my question," Meene insisted.

Rune thought carefully.

"How about those rumors of torture?" Rune asked casually.

"What rumors? Those are truths," Meene stated.

It took all of Rune's self control not look surprised and disgusted.

"So Bai Ying was one of your victims?"

"Bai Ying? Ah yes, I remember her. She was a unsurprisingly stubborn but she eventually talked… And what do you exactly mean by 'victims'?"

"When I saw Bai Ying again, I almost didn't recognize her because her face had been skinned off, her arms and legs were rotting and she was screaming hysterically for the 'Kindly One' for salvation… If that is not a victim then what is it?"

"Ah, you've seen how I've saved her then after I interrogated her."

"Saved her? Yes I saw quite well how reducing her to something like ground beef and forcing Hao to put her out of her misery saved her. Please let me be the next person that you save next." Rune could not drain the incredulity and sarcasm in her voice.

"Fraulein Minor, I believe you have made a mistake by assuming things about me. I don't enjoy torturing people nor do I enjoy reducing them to mere husks of who they were once were."

"Then what is the point of torturing them after you've gotten your information? Why don't you simply put them out of their misery? Why leave them alive when it is obvious they will never live their lives as they used to?"

"Why? Because if they die, it is all over. There is no repentance, there is no chance of them changing. I have learned a truth over time and I suppose I owe the Destroyer for letting me realize it; If love can kill, then hatred can save."

There was a silence. A pause to drink some tea before continuing on. As soon as Rune put down her cup, she opened her mouth.

"… I think you have some serious issues that you need to work out," Rune observed in a bored voice. Part of Rune was sickened by Meene's confirmation of torture. Rune had seen Meene's handiwork once and that was enough for her. Yes Rune killed people, she however did not mangle people deliberately and leave them as wrecks of flesh for others to see. Rune found it infinitely more merciful to kill her victims without pain and without disgrace. Not to mention Meene unnerved her with her unshakeable credo. Yes, Meene Von Meer was a basket case full of issues. Not that Rune was any better.

"Ha, this coming from you? I suppose that I must be insane if even you feel I have issues… And I answered far too many of your questions for it to be quid pro quo," Meene laughed as she poured herself another cup of tea. Meene was torn between disgust and elation at herself. A curious mix but something that she had gotten used to. She was a walking set of contradictions and she could live with that. She had to, what else did she have left?

Both said nothing for the next ten minutes. They chose to drink tea and relax as though they always had tea together.

Eventually that ended.

"… I suppose it's time," Meene sighed as she drank the last of her tea. There was still more in the pot and Meene made a motion to offer Rune more but she refused. They both had delayed the inevitable battle for long enough.

"We'll fight right outside," Rune stated.

"But we're on Nerudova… This place is choked with historical buildings," Meene said.

"And we would care because?" Rune asked.

"You wouldn't and normally I wouldn't either… It's just that I have Marco to deal with…" Meene answered.

"… You're right. I'm glad that you have to deal with that and not me," Rune said in a pitiless voice.

"Heh… The thought just occurred to me…" Meene said as she set down her empty teacup.

"Hm?" Rune looked at Meene intently. There was still some tea left in her own cup.

"If we weren't enemies… No, that's not right. If the Shaman Fights never existed, and we met in a tea shop like this and talked together…" There was a hint of irony in Meene's voice.

"We'd become professional rivals…" Rune noted raised her teacup to her mouth to drink the last bit of tea.

"And rivals over Marco," Meene deadpanned.

Rune Minor choked and spat out her tea in surprise. Luckily, it didn't come out of her nose but she was so startled that she could only stare at Meene.

"… Do you care (cough) to explain that little observation?" Rune asked as she got out a handkerchief to wipe off the spilt tea and schooled her face into a bored mask once more.

"I can sense his aura on you… You've kept it on you for so long that it is almost a part of your own aura…" Meene pointed to Rune's chest where the crucifix pendant hung.

Rune decided that it was beneath her dignity to confirm Meene's suspicions.

"Let's just get this over with… We're not rivals and we both have duties to perform," Rune said brusquely. Meene shrugged as she laid out the appropriate amount of koruna ceska to pay for the tea.

"Unfortunately…" Meene muttered and got up from her seat the same time Rune did. They went out the U Kocoura as the scarred bartender watched with his old eyes. He knew a battle was about to break out and immediately decided to head for a safer place. The two women who just left crackled with power that he could not comprehend nor could survive if he was the victim of it. He closed his bar, took his suitcase of money and awoke his wife to flee to a neighbor's house blocks away in the winter cold.

The cold winter air bit deeply into both women's skin when they left U Kocoura. The wind was like a knife to their face and they could see their breath steam in the air. The lights revealed the ancient burgher houses and snow covered streets. It was picturesque and even Rune Minor had to little choice but admit that it felt as though they had been transported back in time. The effect was ruined by the snow covered cars parked close by and the drunken stragglers streaming out of bars.

Meene and Rune ignored the stares of drunks and went into the very middle of Nerudova and faced each other.

"The people are in the way…" Meene observed. Her hands were in her pockets to keep them warm and watched as a gathering of leering drunks and insomniacs of Prague stared through their window to watch them.

"Don't worry about it," Rune said as she reached over her shoulder to grab a tall and thin curving metal rod with its tip bearing an odd ensemble of gems and metal fittings. She brought it up in front of her and activated Crescent Moon with furyoku. To Meene's spiritual sight there was a glowing curved blade attached to the odd metal rod's tip. Actually glowing was a misdemeanor, the blade was sucking light into itself.

"A scythe?… Not very original, in fact along with the black clothing and the your title as the Grim Reaper, you are a walking classic cliché," Meene noted.

"… There's a reason why classics and clichés never die," Rune stated in a dismissing tone. With that Rune brought down the blade of Crescent Moon into an attack but Meene could see that it was not aimed at her. The blade's energy traveled a short distance, creating a gash in the street, to Meene's right where a car was situated.

The blade's energy punched right through the car like a sledge, the sides caved in as though under a great strain and a hideous groan of metal could be heard. A fire broke out near the engine, then it traveled down the fuel line of the car where it reached the gas tank. An explosion erupted and a small fireball was launched into the air. It took all of Meene's strength not to be thrown back by the force of explosion and the rain of debris cut Meene while Rune shrugged off the shrapnel with her aura.

The drunks stood agape, some where knocked down into the snow by the explosion, and began panicking. People felt Rune's attack from all over the street and began to quickly abandon their homes. There was a terrifying wrongness when the blade's energy leaked out to hit the car. It was an attack that could cut into the soul and if non-shamans could sense the potentially soul destroying attack, a shaman like Meene knew that it could destroy her soul.

'Note to self, do not get hit by the blade if you value your immortal soul,' Meene observed with some trepidation as she wiped some her blood off her face with the back of her glove. It had not escaped Meene's attention that Rune had not been cut by flying shrapnel. It became obvious to Meene that Rune had a protective aura around herself to shrug off the shrapnel.

Rune had decided to press for a psychological advantage over Meene early on. Her enemy was noted for tactics and many layered schemes, if Rune could psych Meene out with a show of power then it would make Meene act overly cautious or carelessly.

Unfortunately for Rune's plan, Meene knew from the moment she picked her fight with Rune that she was in the disadvantage in terms of combat strength. Moreover Meene knew more about Rune than Rune knew about Meene. It was this fact that Meene was confident that she had a chance of defeating Rune.

They stared each other in the eye once last time and then enlarged the distance between them by fifteen paces like duelers of old. Not once did they pay attention to the gaggle of people fleeing their fight or the shouts of confusion from onlookers.

The fight started in an instant. No one was sure who attacked first but the resulting clash was loud and explosive.

Rune struck with Crescent Moon's blade which detached itself from the rod to fly forward at Meene. The distance was eaten up quickly as Meene dove to dodge it and fired her gun. Meene did not summon Gabriel at that very instance but decided instead to fire furyoku enhanced bullets at Rune.

Both their attacks missed each other by the barest margin and destroyed pieces of the buildings behind them. Neither shed any tears at the destruction medieval architecture they were responsible for.

Rune decided to end the battle quickly. There was no reason for her play around with her relatively weak opponent and began to summon the spirits of the dead in Nerudova. Meene saw what her opponent was doing and reached into her pocket with her left hand.

The first dead spirit appeared, a young Russian soldier it seemed it a rather large whole in his chest. Then another popped up, a young woman in a business suit. Then another, this time a young boy. And then another, then a group of them. Until finally within the span of a few seconds there were more than sixty ghosts summoned. Meene fumbled around in her pocket, desperately looking for her rosary.

'Attack her,' Rune mentally commanded her summoned ghosts. A few flew immediately to do Rune's bidding while the others tried to resist with little success, the ones that tried to resist slowly made their way to Meene.

Meene fired her gun in her right hand to knock away the approaching ghosts rather than destroy them. A suspicious tactic that made Rune wonder. Meene should have been concentrating on limiting the number of attackers before they reached her. Rune imagined that Meene would be ruthless enough to destroy the hapless ghosts without a second thought to blunt the approaching onslaught of attacks. Perhaps Rune had misjudged Meene. It seemed that 'the Kindly One' was nothing more than an exaggeration.

The ghosts finally reached Meene and began slicing her flesh and singeing her coat. But Meene still did nothing more than knock them back to buy more time for something that Rune could not begin to fathom. The battle would soon be over unless Meene did something drastic.

"Is this it? I would have thought that your reputation would match your ability… The X-Laws have never lost in Prague supposedly," Rune said, more to herself than to Meene. She began to wonder why Meene had not summoned her angel to battle.

"You know the reason why the X-Laws keep winning in Prague?" Meene asked rhetorically as she spat out some blood from her mouth. She smiled wolfishly and got her hand out of her pocket. The rosary was wrapped on her left hand tightly while crucifix dangled in the wind.

The spirits froze at the sight of the crucifix.

Rune could see the tainted power of the rosary snake around Meene's arm, it to a degree frightened her and comforted her. She knew now without any doubt that she was not the only one in the world to throw away her heritage. But it was now obvious to Rune that she had made a tactical mistake.

Meene had been waiting for Rune to summon the dead spirits.

"Defensor noster, aspice,  
insidiantes reprime,  
guberna tuos famulos,  
quos sanguine mercatus es."

Meene clasped the rosary as though in prayer and the Latin words spilled from her mouth. Many might have found the prayer soothing if not uplifting but there was a tinge of dread and something that was simply not right that colored it. The rosary beads rattled together as the words lingered in the air. The profane and the pure mixed together and that alone was enough to cause everything alive to flee. Those who were too foolish in the beginning to flee now beat a hasty retreat.

A soft white glow of power hovered in the sky and originated from the many churches around the city. The churches were lending their natural strength to Meene and together they shined down on Nerudova.

Rune stiffened as she watched the spirits that she had summoned not only stop their attacks on Meene but also began to shake themselves. As though they were shaking off water and slowly began to turn around to face Rune. Then a few disappeared into the winter air to go back to their eternal rest. Others glared angrily at the living. Some wept at the realization that they were ghosts. But all were free from Rune's control.

Rune began to sweat. The number of spirits that were still present and able to fight were too many for her handle alone. Papery whispers erupted amongst the ranks of the ghosts. Rune knew quite well she should not be able to understand a single word of Czech, but somehow she understood what the ghosts were saying.

"She brought us here!"

"I'm not dead! I'm alive!"

"DAMN YOU!"

"Kill them!"

"HAHAHA!"

Then they surged forward towards Rune. Their hands turned into claws, their mouths were filled with teeth and shrieks erupted from all corners.

The sudden turnaround caused Rune to stop paying attention to Meene for a split second and concentrate on the encirclement of enraged ghosts. That time was more than enough for Meene to hide, Rune lost track of where Meene was.

Gabriel appeared in the air, announced by a crack of a gun. The mechanical angel floated in the air and attacked.

Rune gritted her teeth in annoyance and activated her Sight as she desperately dodged the attacks of the angel and noted that the ghosts were circling her. If one looked closely in Rune's eyes, they could see ancient runes of forgotten lore spinning in the pupil and forming magic circles. The runes inside her eyes allowed her to see the supernatural and beyond better. Her concentration was not as good as it would be since she was being attacked but it was enough.

Rune saw Meene hiding behind a stone wall, obviously intending to allow the ghosts and Gabriel batter her up before entering the fray again. Rune had no intention of letting Meene relax and hide while she fought for her life.

She took Crescent Moon and swung at the angel at maximum power to quickly dispose of it. The blade flew right through the torso of the angel as though it was air and continued on forward towards the museum that towered over Meene's hiding place.

Meene sank to her knees in pain when Gabriel dissipated and the backlash of its destruction reached her. It felt as though there was almost no more air to breath but it was a brief episode. Meene's attention was now fixed on the building behind her that also took the blow from Crescent Moon and saw that the blade had cut right through the museum. It was like watching a tree tilt after a chainsaw had gone through it on an angle.

It teetered… and it tottered… And then it began collapsing on top of her. Bricks, wooden beams and metal fell around her and the wall that she hid behind did nothing much to protect her. It was a miracle that most of the heavy debris failed to strike her but it felt like a jackhammer had decided to situate itself on Meene. It took a critical ten seconds for Meene to charge out from behind the wall to avoid being crushed. Rune was too busy defeating the renegade ghosts attacking her to pay attention to Meene's disadvantaged situation.

With two slashes Rune managed to defeat a wave of ghosts and send off to where ever they belonged. It was not enough, Rune felt the burning hot hands of the ghosts sear through her clothing and cut into her flesh from behind. The smell of burning clothing and open wounds reached her nostrils. Rune was mildly shocked, her protection aura should have protected her from any sort of attack but the ghosts could easily melt through. The encirclement was deadly, Rune threw down Crescent Moon at her feet like a spear and leapt forward to break through the weakened line of ghosts in front of her. The sensation of going through the ghosts was like fire, singeing and cutting her briefly until she was cleared. She was concentrating on her defense so much that landing her leap out of the encirclement of ghosts was secondary. Rune landed in the snow in a heap but as soon as she got out, she redirected her furyoku back into Crescent Moon, standing erect in the snow like a flag pole. A rolling burst of energy that was similar to Crescent Moon's blade erupted and mowed down the attacking ghosts like an explosion.

The ghosts wavered in the energy before dissipating. Rune could see the agonized faces of the ghosts, their mouths open and screaming in silence as Crescent Moon was sent flying into the night sky by the explosion. The glow of power that the churches had created, faded into oblivion without fanfare.

Rune almost didn't see Meene charge her because she paid more attention to where Crescent Moon was going to land. Meene aimed for a punch to Rune's face. Close combat was a specialty of Meene's. While she wasn't as accurate as Porf or Marco with a gun, she was unrivalled in the X-Laws in hand to hand. What Meene didn't know was that Rune Minor also specialized in close combat. A scythe, after all, made for a poor weapon in close quarters and thus necessitated learning hand to hand combat.

Meene was not expecting it. So when Rune deflected Meene's punch and counter-attacked, Meene almost didn't block it in time. Meene's skill and experience allowed her to avoid getting hit by Rune.

The fight was a sight to see. Meene's fists and feet faintly glowed with furyoku and sparked off Rune's protective aura. Neither one getting a decent hit in, Rune was not skilled enough to hit and Meene could not punch through Rune's protective aura no matter how many times she slipped through Rune's blocks and parries.

They were both rapidly losing endurance to keep on fighting.

Though it took little furyoku for Meene to power up her attacks, she didn't have much to fight with in the beginning. It was fortunate for Meene that Rune's protective aura drained her furyoku quite a bit. Both fighters were ragged, blood poured from scratches and bruises were bloomed on their bodies. The snow fell around them and their misty breath froze in the air.

Rune decided to collapse her protective aura and take a hit from Meene, so that she could concentrate her own furyoku into an attack. Meene surprised when one of her kicks got through Rune's protective aura and came down on Rune's left shoulder. Rune dimly noted through the pain that her left arm was useless and punched Meene with her right fist, ablaze with furyoku. Meene blocked the attack with both her arms thinking that it was normal attack, noticing too late the green glow that engulfed Rune's fist.

Meene screamed with pain and leapt back to put distance between them. Until the pain subsided in Meene's arms, there was no way for her block Rune's attack. Meene realized to her horror that she had also dropped her gun somewhere, the gun holster was ripped to shreds and empty. Sensing her opportunity dimly, Rune ran up and kicked Meene in the stomach, bruising the ribs. It took all of Meene's training to bow over in pain and allow Rune free shots to pummel her.

The fight was now at Meene's disadvantage. So she did an attack of desperation.

WHAM

"You head-butted me?" Rune asked dazed as she took a few steps back.

"Damn straight!" Meene answered as she found the world spinning around her rapidly. Head butting an opponent was not a good idea when you had a minor concussion, Meene noted in hindsight of her actions.

Rune actually got angry but most of her powers were waning and she had little strength to perform truly damaging attacks. It was a testament of the damage that she had taken and her frustration when she went right up to Meene and head butted the other woman back.

"Why, you!"

WHAM

The attack was completely unexpected; Meene assumed that Rune was far too dignified and rational to participate in such an indecorous action.

Meene assumed wrongly and reeled back from the attack.

Anger clouded Meene's better judgment, ignoring the pain in her arms Meene grabbed Rune and dug her fingers into Rune Minor's shoulders and head butted back.

"Back at you!"

WHAM

Meene could see two Rune Minor floating in front of her as result and they looked particularly angry. Rune Minor's pale skin showed the red rage that colored her face easily.

Rune Minor grabbed onto Meene's shoulders and head butted again and noticed when she pulled back that there were four Meenes floating around looking hurt. The battle of the two women had become a surprisingly inelegant one as they took turns head butting each other. The snow fell lightly on the burning wreckage of cars and the collapsed buildings and hotels of Nerudova. The once picturesque street was a complete wreck reminding many older residents of the damage the street took during WW2. Rubble and dust piled onto the street and hid the two combatants perfectly from outsiders as people ran for cover or left in their pajamas to safer areas. If Meene and Rune bothered to note that, their battle somehow miraculously managed not to kill anyone they would have just shrugged and go back to their fight.

WHAM

"HA!"

WHAM

"Still up for more?"

WHAM

"Like I'd go down."  
  
WHAM

"ARGH!"

WHAM

"&#$ this!"

That was Rune who swore by the way.

Rune kicked Meene in the stomach to create breathing space for the both of them. They separated violently and almost wrenched their fingers off by accident. Meene landed on her back in the snow while Rune hit a wall that was still standing from their fight. For Meene there appeared to be 16 Runes floating around in her dazed sight and for Rune, there appeared to be 32 Meenes floating around.

A retreat was in order for both of them but they found that neither wanted to make the first move. To be the first to show weakness to the other. The air was full of the sounds of sirens and both, despite their disoriented state, realized if they did not move out soon, they would have to deal with the police and fire department.

They both desperately scrambled to search for their weapons in the snow and found it nearly impossible to even make sense of their own sight. Everything seemed to be in multiples from the large fires burning in cars to the number of debris piles that littered the street.

Meene found her weapon first eventually in the snow and fumbled with it as she tried to fire into the air. Her furyoku was enough to summon her angel Gabriel and create a diversion to retreat.

The angel appeared in the air, fading in some areas because of a lack of furyoku, and made one last swipe at Rune.

Rune rolled out of the way of the main attack but the shockwave of force from it, she had no choice but to endure. It threw Rune into a pile of rubble as snow, dirt and rocks were kicked into a wave that covered her. Visibility became zero and Rune's head was ringing but her vision was cleared. She was no longer seeing multiples of everything in her sight, that however mattered little when there nothing to see in the first place. A cloud of snow billowed about Rune and the wind howled and whistled.

In the middle of the maelstrom of cold and snow Rune relaxed and allowed her Sight to wander. She could see Meene hastily retreating over a pile of rubble that was once a house and she could see her scythe, stricken upon a car.

Rune plowed through the blinding snow and grabbed Crescent Moon. With a tremendous heave, she managed to rip it out using her right arm only and funneled the last of her furyoku to form the killing blade one last time, all the while keeping her Sight on Meene. The soul-destroying blade of Crescent Moon was finally formed and Rune swung it in a wide clumsy arc due to her exhaustion. The blade detached from Crescent Moon and launched itself towards Meene's fleeing back. The blade cut into Meene's back and toppled her over the summit of the rubble pile that she was scrambling over to retreat from her enemy. There was a visible slash on Meene's back but it became obvious to Rune that the gash from Crescent Moon's blade was neither deep nor life threatening. The distance and the weakness of her attack guaranteed that her last attack did not kill her opponent.

Rune decided to make good on her escape now. Even if Meene was severely injured by the final attack Rune had launched, the approaching sirens and her depleted furyoku forced their battle to a stop. Rune disappeared into the night without looking back. The battle was over for now.

Meene would probably been completely relieved that Rune had decided to retreat at that moment but she had a serious problem right at that moment. Though the wound that she received from Rune was not life threatening… but it hurt like hell and the wound it made was bleeding profusely. This was combined with the injuries that she had received from Rune and the overuse of her shaman abilities, put a strain on her body. The red blood that poured from Meene's back wound stained her jacket and the snow around her. Breathing hurt and dizziness from a loss of blood threatened her consciousness. But out from the corner of her eye, she could see a small church to her right that was almost unharmed during the battle. There was no lights in the window and the door had been blown apart. Meene saw but it took considerable effort for her to crawl towards it. The sirens of rescue workers, police and many others were every where now.

'Not only did I not win, I also didn't finish all the tea and I'm going to bleed inside a church… What a way to end the night,' Meene thought sarcastically as she finally dragged herself through the doors.

Meene however did not have time to give it much thought. She stripped off her jacket and shirt, and was rewarded with the colorful sight of purple and blue bruises and red gashes and wounds all over her body. The gash on her back was the most worrisome, some of the blood was frozen because of the cold but it was still bleeding. Meene shivered in the cold and quickly took her shirt and ripped it into strips. The makeshift bandages were hastily wrapped tightly around the most serious wounds she had.

Meene hissed in pain and slowly began to realize that even with bandages, she was losing too much blood from her back wound. Unfortunately, she didn't have any furyoku left to heal her wound. Which left her only two options left, she could pull the ambient furyoku fused in the church for her own personal use or she could bleed to death inside the church. Neither option was desirable in the least. Using holy ground like churches or burial grounds of saints to amplify one's own power was acceptable, encouraged in fact when Meene was in the Order of The Repenting Ones. To however profane such ground by leeching away its power to oneself was sacrilege, punishable by lashing or death.

But then again, she sure as hell wasn't going to bleed to death inside a church.

Meene gripped her rosary tightly and chanted.

"Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me. Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum; sana me, Domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea."

The rosary coiled and shook as a inky black haze filled the air around Meene and began to consume bits and pieces of the church; A bit of plaster disappeared here and there disfiguring the walls, a crack was forming in the wooden benches or the paper in the bibles began to crinkle with age. The physical changes were minor and easily repaired but the most striking change was that the very nature of the church began to twist and corrupt. It seemed shabbier as though people had abandoned it to neglect and it felt like a place that no amount of prayer from the faithful could restore it as a place of worship.

It was holy ground where it is the people, not shamans, who gave it its power and grace. With each prayer, with each song and with each person who came through the door, a bit of power from each individual was infused into the church and added as a part of a greater form.

And Meene was slowly undoing it by inelegantly ripping the very fibers that held it together. It was akin to taking a rock and breaking a stained glass window to steal it. It was also an unpleasant sensation, as though Meene was being watched and condemned by all who had come before her.

But she did not want to die and thus she continued.

"Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me. Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum; sana me, Domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea…"

The furyoku Meene had stolen poured into her back wound, lingered around her bruised ribs and was healed completely. The other aches, cuts and bruises were left as they were before. If Meene had so wished it, she could have drained the entire place and heal her body completely. But it was enough that the most life-threatening injuries were healed. Despite the restraint on Meene's part, the church felt wrong and it would take many visits from the faithful to restore it back to what it once was.

The congregation of the church was going to be in for an unpleasant surprise tomorrow when they came to see the damage.

Meene put her jacket on and rosary back into her pocket and fled into the night. Hoping that the confusion and destruction of Nerudova would keep the authorities from noticing her.

-------

And thus the night's events ended.

Sneaking past the police and sneaking into the house that the X-Laws rented without anyone noticing was a pain. Literally since Meene ached, bleed and pretty much hurt all over despite her healing boost. She could not delay her escape plan to recuperate in private and future investigations by having her teammates question what had happened to her. Besides that would pretty much guarantee Marco getting wind of what happened in Prague and get on her case.

There was also another reason why Meene didn't want anyone seeing her or coming close to her when she came back.

The taint of her powers and rosary had not yet dissipated. It was faint, and there was no way anyone could track her down on it alone, but if shamans got too near her after a battle or an intense encounter… They could literally taste the bitter taint of her sins and feel dirty from a mere touch of her skin. It was something that most X-Laws were quite worried about and kept their distance from her in fear at times. Even Cebin and Venstar, despite being her teammates, kept their distance from her after battle to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of foulness. Only Marco and Jeanne felt comfortable enough to approach her soon after a battle or something equally unpleasant.

Jeanne could because she accepted it as a part of Meene.

Meene theorized that Marco could approach her because he was too much of an obsessive with a notorious lack of self-preservation and sense to even notice it. Actually Meene was not exactly sure why Marco never seemed to be bothered by her tainted aura, it was a mystery that baffled to her no end.

Speaking of Marco…

"_Meene_…" An unnaturally calm voice made Meene's blood freeze and she twitched as she realized her chance to escape had melted away as a tall shadow came over her. The owner of the voice was not known for being calm. In fact, he was rather infamous for his volcanic temper when stoked.

Thus, Meene was very, very afraid.

Marco was never this calm.

"Hey, Marco!… What a coincidence," Meene said in a shaky voice. She tilted her head back a bit and saw Marco standing right behind her. So close that when she tilted her head, it rested on his stomach. She gave Marco a weak smile and noted that the lights were in such an angle that she couldn't see his eyes. There was something on Marco that was rather familiar but Meene didn't have time to think about it. Not with Marco hovering above her right now. Despite her physical contact with Marco, he did not wince or seem to notice the taint on Meene's aura.

Meene was not surprised that she hadn't noticed someone had entered the room. Her concussion must have taken more out of her than she thought.

"_What happened in Prague?! Hm?_" Marco continued in his overly calm tone. He seemed to ignore the fact that Meene's head leaned on his stomach or didn't have a proper shirt on.

"Er… Well I met up with Myzokla and we discussed the, ah, purchase you wanted… It was a pretty good price…" Meene began to sweat a bit. She found that she had pause every so often to think of what she was going to say next.

"_Go on_…"

Meene decided at that moment, that she was glad she left a will and testament for her little sister.

"Well, he left and then… er… I, um, decided to have tea… By myself for the time being, it was really good tea… I forgot the name of it and all but I did learn that I can buy it in Prague somewhere…" Meene babbled a bit. Marco lowered his head and revealed his very fiery gaze upon her. The familiar aura was there still, the one that hung on Marco subtly. Moreover her own tainted aura began receding quickly and was being replaced with an aura of 'holy crap I got to think of an excuse right now!'.

Oh yes… Meene was very glad she left a will and testament. It was really too bad she didn't finish the tea in the pot before this entire incident.

"_Drinking tea does not automatically add up into **destroying **a section of Prague_," Marco said through clenched teeth.

"… I didn't destroy a bit of Prague… I, um, cleared away a small section for renovation," Meene offered and smiled weakly. Marco was not amused. Meene realized she had to explain to Marco quick before he lost his self-control and launch into one of his bombastically long lectures (rants really) about both personal responsibility and respecting property or whatever else he thought was appropriate. When that happened, Meene tended to tune out his voice by imagining that Marco was Father Klain and nod every so often. She had plenty of training to ignore lectures and Marco never seemed to notice that she never paid any attention.

It didn't mean she enjoyed Marco ranting though occasionally they proved to be quite amusing.

"At 0252, I made contact with Rune Minor. AKA The Grim Reaper, codename Justicar…" Meene began in a serious footing now. Meene paused for a bit when her head felt Marco's stomach clench and noted that Marco's gaze seemed to get even more heated.

"**_And?_**" Marco asked.

"I… I drank tea with her and we talked for an hour…" Meene blinked now. It hit her at the moment that Marco had Rune Minor's aura on him, it was almost a part of his own aura but it was still very distinct. Meene had gotten so used to its presence on Marco and that she overlooked it until now. A small but noticeably cooler aura, most likely from an item that Rune Minor, herself, once owned. It was there hanging around his neck and near his heart. But this part of Rune Minor's aura was warmed by Marco's own aura and pleasant. It was almost motherly and most definitely tender.

Meene's head spun as she tried to come to grips with the huge difference between Rune's aura on Marco and Rune's actual personal aura. Rune's personal aura was dark, foreboding and cold but with something at it's core that gave a feeling of intense devotion. Loving devotion in fact. And then there was Marco and his own piece of Rune's aura on him to contrast.

This 'disturbed' Meene.

The implication of it all and the potential conflict of interest between Marco and Rune Minor was mind boggling.

Could it be that Marco Innocenzo Testarossa was a double agent actually supporting Hao or Rune Minor was a double agent supporting the X-Laws.

She wanted to think it was impossible but Father Luchist Rasso's defection to Hao and betraying the X-Laws in the process had left her mildly paranoid and opened new options.

Then again, Marco was far too obvious in everything he did. Father Luchist knew subtlety; Marco was as subtle as a brick and had as much self-control as one flying through the air via a catapult.

"You had tea with Minor?" Marco asked dismayed and his hands rested on Meene's bruised shoulders lightly to turn her around in the swivel chair. Meene would have noted the change in his tone but was too busy trying to beat down pain firing down her arms. Marco's touch was light but it was still enough to remind Meene of the extent of her injuries. She dropped the ice pack onto the floor and pitched her body forward a bit.

Meene's reaction immediately caused Marco to remove his hands as though he burned himself. He peered down at Meene with concern and noted the injuries on her face, bare arms, stomach and shoulders. The bruises were quite evident on her face and there were a number of bandages on her arms. He wondered at what other injuries she had on her body and the severity.

Marco tried not to blush too badly when he finally realized that Meene was not wearing her shirt as he looked at her injuries.

Meene on the other hand tried not to punch Marco in face.

"DAMN IT MARCO THAT HURT!"

Meene spun around in her chair and tried to grab the ice pack on the floor but the pain spasms were so severe that opening and closing her hands was difficult. The room swam from the sudden movement of the swivel chair and Meene felt mildly sick.

Marco frowned and kneeled down to come face to face with Meene.

"What happened to you anyways?" Marco asked. Here he paused and continued on to state the obvious. "You look like hell…"

Meene rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Oh nothing… Just the end results of having Rune Minor attack me with her scythe… a few random explosions, punches and what have you… Nothing too serious… Oh… did I mention a building collapsed on me?… No?… I didn't think so."

Meene had to pause every so often to think of her words, her mind was sluggish and the pain froze her ability at insults and acidic sarcasm. Meene's stuttering sarcasm was ignored by Marco completely.

Instead, he sighed and looked at the ceiling. His glasses once again shined in the angle of light and hid his eyes. He loosened his tie as he mused and came to a decision.

"All right… I think you should get some rest," Marco declared quietly. He lowered his eyes and gave Meene a vaguely amused smile. He then without warning scooped Meene up into his arm like a knight rescuing a princess and began carrying her out the door.

"Wha? Marco!" Meene sputtered with indignation for the first time in Marco's presence, usually she was the one making Marco sputter with indignation and making him grasp for witty comebacks and insults. However, her concussion prevented her from saying something that would get Marco to put her down or responding to his declaration. She was aghast as well, when she realized Marco had the advantage for the first time since she joined the X-Laws. Moreover, Marco knew fully well of this fact also and enjoyed it immensely.

They were finally in the hallway when Meene was reminded of a bride being carried across the threshold of the house... Not to mention she was not wearing a shirt. She couldn't control her blush and made futile attempts to push herself out of Marco's arms and cover herself a bit. It only made her arms burn with more pain and her body protested moving too much.

"Put me down! I can walk myself!" Embarrassment colored Meene's tone and Marco blithely decided to end her protests with his reasoning and a mild threat.

"You're injured and in pain, walking to your room would be a hassle for you, besides it's not as if anyone is here to see me carry you like this. Larch, Denbat and Porf are in Spain at this moment investigating Carmen Dolcenazo. Venstar and Cebin are outside providing security, though if you keep this up they'll come in to investigate. And Jeanne is sleeping, so cooperate and be quiet... I mind as well get everyone to watch me tuck you into bed like a little girl since you're acting like one."

Meene was not convinced and took Marco's glasses to get his attention.

"Put me down! Now or else you won't get your glasses back!" There was a note of humiliation in Meene's voice.

"I have plenty of spare glasses… What are you so worried about anyways?!" Marco demanded annoyed. He drew his face closer to Meene since his eyesight was now fuzzy. Meene attempted to back away from Marco's face with little success since he was carrying her when she noticed that they weren't exactly alone in hallway any more.

"Oh, I don't know… Because you are carrying me to my room and… Mademoiselle D'Arc is staring at us right now with a funny look on her face…"

Marco had been so busy looking at Meene that he failed to notice that Jeanne's bedroom door had opened, revealing the young ten-year-old leader staring at them.

Jeanne hadn't listened to the entire conversation, she could only comprehend various snippets of conversation but they were all rather suggestive. She woke up into a hazy sort of awareness that plagues many who awake from a sound sleep suddenly. Her skewed perception certainly did nothing to help a more judicious conclusion to the sight that greeted her.

Marco's tie had been loosened and his shirt was rumpled. In his arms, he carried a similarly ragged Meene who held captive his glasses and appeared to be wearing nothing on top but a bra. They seemed unusually intimate due to their position and their faces were uncommonly close and discussing something involving a bed.

It all baffled Jeanne.

"Um… Carry on… Whatever you two are doing," Jeanne said groggily and closed her bedroom door with a quiet click. Jeanne decided there were some things that just weren't worth getting up and investigating. She was sure there was more to the situation but she didn't particularly care at that moment. If she were more awake, Jeanne would have felt a spike of disbelief and embarrassment then demand to know what was going on.

Marco and Meene felt sufficiently like idiots.

"You think she'll remember this tomorrow morning?" Meene asked in a straight voice as she returned Marco's glasses to their proper place.

"… I don't think so. She seemed really out of it, she tends not remember things when she's like that," Marco answered.

"Right…"

"Now we will never speak of this again… Agreed?"

"Agreed…"

Marco quickly carried Meene to her room and Meene gave up protesting. Marco put Meene down on her bed and bent down to unlace her boots. Soon enough, Meene was sprawled on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

The bed was soft… Soft was good but unfamiliar to Meene's abused body. Even the downy pillow did nothing to relieve the pounding and throbbing that Meene felt when she closed her eyes. The pressure behind her eyelids forced them open and made her feel even more bruised. The room actually seemed to spinning and her stomach protested holding anything in.

It occurred to Meene that she was very glad that Marco carried her to her room, not only because she wouldn't have to suffer walking. But also because it made her feel happy and secure with the knowledge that there was people in the world who were not afraid to touch her still. Despite all that she had done in both shadows and in light.

Even if Marco was completely ignorant of what she had done.

"I will call for Doctor Wicha to check up on you… For now just rest and forget what happened," Marco said as he pulled the blanket cover over Meene.

"… Does that mean you'll forget what happened in Prague?" Meene asked, there was a note of hope in her voice.

Marco crushed it completely and ruthlessly.

"No… It means I'll rant at you tomorrow," Marco stated with a rather nasty smirk.

"…You know Marco… I can learn how to hate you, you do realize…"

And the so peace was maintained…


End file.
